Okay so it is officially 11:37am. Now those of you who know me well are probably thinking, "Paige, what in God's name are you doing up before the crack of noon?" Good question. Well, as it just so happens I was awoken this morning by a phone call from Texas (they're 2 hours ahead, so it was almost noon there) telling me that they will be screening my short film "Darla of the Dead" at their Dismember the Alamo: Zombie Short Film Festival on Halloween night.
Needless to say, I danced around the room in my jammies for quite some time.
Then I realized, there's a list that I haven't done... yeah, I couldn't believe it either. In honor of my upcoming festival debut, here are my top 5 favorite Zombie Movies.
Shaun of the Dead
I know that I go on and on about this movie ad nauseum but seriously it is one of my faves. Not only is it amazingly hilarious and acted beautifully by the illustrious Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, but it's also legitimately scary at points. It's incredibly difficult to be funny and scary at the same time, but Shaun of the Dead does it with the finesse of that guy from Vh1's the pick up artist, and for that it earns my top spot.
Planet Terror
aka: The awesome half of Grindhouse
Oh no she di-int. Yeah, I totally did. I will be the first to admit to my die hard Tarantino fandom, but even I cannot deny that Planet Terror was totally my favorite of the two. This movie has everything. Zombies, Machine Gun Legs, and Fergie... being eated by a Zombie. Moreover, I am totally dressing up like Cherry Darling for the festival.
Dead Alive
Before Peter Jackson was known for respectable Oscar Winning films like Lord of the Rings... he made Dead Alive... for about $11 total. This movie is disgustingly hilarious, between Zombie babies, Kung Fu inclined Ministers, and haunted household appliances, it's no wonder that the film culminates with the main character strapping a lawnmower to his chest and walking through a Zombie hoarde.
Evil Dead II
Groovy.
It would be impossible to make a list of Zombie Films without mentioning the one, the only, the master, Bruce Campbell. Much like Dead Alive, the Evil Dead films were directed by Sam Raimi, now famous for films like Spiderman... but once famous for attaching a chainsaw to a character's hand for easy Zombie dismemberment. I think the most hilarious thing about Evil Dead II is that essentially it's a remake of Evil Dead I... they just had more money this time... and they gave Bruce Campbell a chainsaw for a hand. See Also, Army of Darkness, the final and arguably least frightening film in the Evil Dead franchise, sure fire laughs and chainsaw hands abound.
The Matrix
Let's face it, Keanu's practically a Zombie anyway, we should just make it official, and Carrie Anne Moss should totally have a machine gun for a leg.
I'm on the Fence About...
Plan 9 From Outer Space
Where would midnight movie screenings be today without Ed Wood?
See that guy in the back covering his face? Yeah, that's because Bella Lugosi died after only filming a few scenes of the film, and rather than scrap the project or re-film Lugosi's scenes, Wood decided it was just better to hire a new guy and have him cover his face the whole time... Good Plan Ed.
Zombieland
Don't get me wrong, it was great. I just find it hard to resist the temptation of comparing it to my #1.
Night of the Living/Dawn of the Dead
Without George A. Romero's commentary on Human Society, we wouldn't have the modern zombie film... I just couldn't decide which one to put on the list, so here's both.
Well, that's all for now. I'm off to go celebrate.
Removing the Head and Destroying the Brain,
Rampaige
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